The present invention relates to a fuel feed port sealing apparatus disposed at a vehicle or the like.
Conventionally, a motor vehicle or the like is provided at the fuel feed port thereof with a sealing apparatus in order to prevent fuel vapor from leaking from the gap between a fuel feed nozzle inserted into the fuel feed port and the inner periphery thereof.
An example of such a sealing apparatus is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 62-191631. As shown in FIG. 17, the sealing apparatus disclosed in this Publication is arranged such that an annular sealing member 92 made of rubber is fitted to the inner periphery of a fuel feed port 91, and that a metallic insertion guide 93 extends along that surface of the sealing member 92 which faces a fuel feed port opening side A1, the insertion guide 93 being disposed for guiding a metallic fuel feed nozzle N inserted into the fuel feed port 91, to the inner periphery of the sealing member 92. In this sealing apparatus, the sealing member 92 has an inner diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the fuel feed nozzle N to provide a tightening allowance. This causes the inner periphery of the sealing member 92 to stick fast to the outer periphery of the fuel feed nozzle N inserted into the fuel feed port 91.
In this fuel feed port sealing apparatus of prior art, each time the fuel feed nozzle N is inserted into the fuel feed port 91 or the fuel feed nozzle N thus inserted is removed therefrom, the outer periphery of the fuel nozzle N comes in sliding contact with the inner periphery of the sealing member 92. Accordingly, if the fuel feed nozzle N has got a wound at the outer periphery thereof, the wound acts as a sharp cutting face to damage the inner peripheral surface of the sealing member 92. This disadvantageously lowers the sealing properties of the sealing member 92. Further, there is the likelihood that the wound of the fuel feed nozzle N scraps off the inner peripheral surface of the sealing member 92 and that a fine piece thus scraped off enters into the fuel tank, resulting in early clogging of the fuel filter attached to the combustion device of an internal combustion engine or the like.